Hebrews

Joyce Webb 2018

Introduction: 

No one is sure who wrote this book. Some think that Paul did.

The Hebrews are the Jewish people. The people who live in Israel.

This letter is written to the Jewish people who believed in Jesus and became followers of His — called Christians.

From the Old Testament times when the 10 Commandments were given and many other laws and rules about sacrifices, feast days, worship, and daily life—–the Jewish, Hebrew people became used to obeying many rules.

Then when Jesus came, he taught that a relationship with God was not about following many rules, but was a relationship of spirit. Man’s spirit with the Spirit of God.

Following rules of things, was not the main thing. It was about a person’s heart and mind toward God.

This was a new way of thinking for the Jewish people.

We call the older times under all those rules The Old Testament or Old Covenant or Old Agreement. After Jesus came it was the time for a New Testament or New Agreement.

This change was very hard for the Jewish people accept.

They now believed that Jesus was God’s Son. They followed his teachings, but they had a hard time giving up their ideas about the old rules.

They did believed that our relationship with God was not about doing something to earn or get salvation, it was about faith, believing in Jesus.

But then they wanted to “add” some rule that had to be done in order to please God to have salvation.

So this book is written explaining how the old rules can not work with this new way of “faith”.

The writer of this book shows that in truth Abraham was righteous before God by faith alone because he lived before the 10 Commandments were given.

It was “faith” and “believing” God that made Abraham leave his home and follow to where God was leading him.

It was “faith” and “believing” God that Abraham believed that God would give him a son.

Man’s relationship with God has always been about the heart and mind and spirit connecting with God’s Spirit.

God’s 10 Commandments was God showing the people a “standard” or a “measuring ruler” to show them where they should be.

Because of the people’s sinful nature, they never could “measure up”. They always came up short of the mark. Which is what the word “sin” means—–“missing the mark”.

God was trying to show them how far they were from God’s holiness.

They had to see their sin and failing to understand how holy God was and to see that they needed help to come up to God’s holiness.

They could never come up to God’s holiness by themselves.

A death punishment (penalty) was hanging over them because of their sin.

Only a perfect without sin person to die as a sacrifice could be offered for God to accept it. That one person would be the substitute or “stand in” for all people.

No man was able to do that for himself. God sent His own son to live in a human body to be a perfect without sin sacrifice. Jesus paid the death punishment for everyone.

Now, if we believe in Jesus and what he did for us, by “faith” — not by our works—- we can be forgiven of our sin.